SAP OVER VIEW

Main character of SAP software is specialization. Specialization means each component within the SAP software meets a particular need. For example one component is responsible for providing web-based access to other SAP systems. Another component is responsible for addressing product lifecycle planning requirements. Yet another component helps interconnecting different systems to ease integration headaches.
Every

company needs to manage its inventories, generate and track sales, deliver services, maximize revenue, and optimize its supply chains. SAP is used to satisfy these needs of the companies. Overview of SAP SAP is a product of Walldorf, Germany based company called SAP AG, pronounced ess-aye-pea aye-gee) SAP AG is the world's largest enterprise software company. Within SAP software there are various components. A component can be broken down further into modules of functionality that are more discrete in nature. Each module is addresses a particular piece of the overall component pie. SAP software is comprised of modules like Financials, Sales & Distribution, Materials Management, Warehouse Management, and so on. Each of these modules serves to manage a functional area for which a particular department is responsible. Individual SAP modules combine to form an SAP component.

Within a SAP component, a company's business processes are configured. SAP software reflects industry's best practices. By adopting proven practices, companies serve their stakeholders more efficiently. For example, in SAP you can configure business processes like "order to cash" and "credit check". Configurating a business processes within SAP may involve one or more modules.

HISTORY From day one, SAP was created as a global software product. The software was engineered on a multilingual and multinational platform. Only a few years after its core product hit the marketplace the SAP become Germany's top software vendor. Thanks to these innovative design features. The goal was clear: to develop a software that integrates company's business functions in a manner that reflected best practices. Their idea grew into the SAP software. SAP = Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing. Short History of SAP Ex-IBM engineers formed a company called SAP AG in Mannheim, Germany in 1972. Originally the company was named: Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung.

SAP AG COMPANY

SAP AG also offers comprehensive industry solutions besides regular SAP software (ECC products). Examples are SAP Aerospace & Defense, SAP Automotive, SAP Banking, SAP Chemicals, SAP Consumer Products, SAP Engineering & Construction, SAP Healthcare, SAP High Tech, SAP Insurance, SAP Media, SAP Oil & Gas, SAP Pharmaceuticals, SAP Public Sector, SAP Retail, SAP Service Provider, SAP Telecommunications, SAP Utilities. Nearly 30 industries are covered by SAP industry solutions. SAP AG has offices in more than 50 countries. It has more than 32,000 employees. Partners base exceeds 1,500. There are 12 million SAP users and over 91,000 SAP installations. SAP AG Today SAP AG company is a market leader in Enterprise Applications software. SAP is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol SAP.
LESSON: SAP SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND WEBAS

WebAS is very flexible. Due to this flexibility an orgranization can initially choose to deploy SAP system very similar to how they do business today, and then gradually evolve business model over time. The SAP system has three tiers. The presentation layer, application logic, and data management are logically separate from one another. They can also be made to be physically separated. In this way, a flexible system can be created. Additional headroom can be easily added when required.

Most SAP components are built on a powerful platform called Web Application Server, or WebAS. WebAS understand most popular computer languages including HTML, XML, Web Services, SAP ABAP/4, and Java To store back end date, many database versions and releases are supported.
SAP R/3 CLIENT SERVER ARCHITECTURE

Client/server is of a few architectures available. In a client/server environment, a client machine requests information, via network, from the supplying machine, known as the server. A client machine could be an individual PC, workstation, mobile computing device, or even another computer system.

ECC (ERP Central Component) is built around a different type of architecture. It uses SAP NetWeaver and Enterprise Services Architecture. Client/Server Environment SAP R/3 (old version) was using an architecture called client/server. The newer version of SAP R/3 is called ECC: ERP Central Component.
LESSON: THREE-TIERED ARCHITECTURE

The three-tiered architecture divides the architecture into three layers: * The user interface layer * The business logic layer ("application" layer) * The database layer

The 3 tier solution is more scalable. Now upgrading application is easier as well. The application now resides one (or few) machine: middle tier, as oppose to hundreds of client PCs. SAP engineers also abstracted the database layer. Many different databases are supported.

The client/server architecture was a two tier solution. The two tiers were: the Server computer and the Client PCs. Later on SAP engineers constructed a solution that involved three tiers rather than two. A central computer hosts the database. This computer is known as the database server. The application server is responsible for the administrative functions including background processing and printing. Multiple application servers can exist in an SAP three-tiered design. This is not true for the database server, however. There can be various computers fulfilling the role of presentation server. These computers are also called front-end clients. These computers display the SAP screens. SAP graphical user interface (GUI), or SAP GUI is installed on these computers. Recap: Presentation server displays the user's communication window with SAP; also known as the SAP GUI.

Application server manages SAP administrative functions, processes, and request management. Database server provides for the organized storage of all data, in the form of database tables, rows, and other structures.

What is Graphical user interface (GUI)? A graphical user interface consists of graphic images called icons that include buttons, pull-down menus, dialog boxes, and scrollbars. These images are typically manipulated with a mouse. The GUI makes computers user friendly. hree-tiered architecture Installed as Two-tier Sometimes the application and database layers are combined into one server and hence three-tier system becomes two-tier. From an installation point of view the database and application server are treated as two machines. You install database software and then you install applications software on the same machine. This is way you can achieve simple-to-administer system however you loose on scalability.

When the server runs out of resouces, it has to be upgraded or replaced as a whole. You cannot simply add another application server machine or database sever machine to the existing system. It is for scalability, the three-tiered architecture is so popular.
FOUR-TIERED ARCHITECTURES

The four-tiered system enables simple browser-based access. This laywer helps in reducing the expense associated with installing, patching, and upgrading the SAP GUI user interface across perhaps hundreds or thousands of desktops. Also it helps to integrate web services into the overall architecture.

Four-tiered architectures SAP introduced Four-tiered architectures when enterprise software vendors recognized the value that the Internet or company-internal intranets can provide to the end-users. The fourth layer is called "accessibility tier" or "services tier". This layer exists in between the application and presentation tiers.
SAP NetWeaver is a component of SAP software that provides the platform for integrating these application services. By using NetWeaver you can adopt an Enterprise Services Architecture. Strickly speaking Netweaver using four-tier architecture. You can say that: ECA = Application talking amoung each other using services on a Four Tier Architecture

Enterprise Services Architecture SAP is building is solution around a new model: Enterprise Services Architecture (ESA). ESA involves various applications talking to each other via services. SAP Business Suite The following components constitute what is known as mySAP Business Suite. * mySAP (Enterprise Resource Planning) * SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management) * SAP CRM (Customer Relationship Management) * SAP PLM (Product Life Cycle Management) * SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management)

mySAP ERP SAP AG offers a bundle of solution called mySAP ERP. mySAP ERP includes following components: * Neatweaver * ERP Central Component (ECC), * Business Intelligence (SAP BI), * Enterprise Portal (SAP EP), * SAP's Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI), * Mobile Infrastructure (SAP MI), * Strategic Enterprise Management application (SAP SEM) * SAP's Supplier Relationship Management solution (SAP SRM). * Employee Self Service (ESS) * Manager Self Service (MSS) * and more...

SAP ECC

ECC addresses core business activities that must be accomplished day in and day out. Examples include managing inventories and sales, track orders, plan and execute warehouse movements, etc. mySAP consists of four solution from functional point of view: * mySAP ERP Financials * mySAP ERP Human Capital Management * mySAP ERP Operations * mySAP ERP Corporate Services SAP ECC SAP's ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) is at the core of mySAP. SAP ECC replaces SAP R/3 as the company's main software system.